In your case one of the WeeWee pads might be good. My girlfriend lives in an apartment, works and has a small dog. The dog has been trained to go on the pad and will not soil the rest of the house. I agree, 10 hours is too long in the crate.

You have to train the dog to use the pad.

BTW, should the wee pads also prevent him from making a mess on the floor?

02-19-2013, 06:02 AM

gdgnyc

Yes but he has to be trained. Also, at first the dog might miss the pad but will get better with training.

02-19-2013, 03:16 PM

Paul "Happy" Gilmore

I had a litter of pups recently and had success with sort of a "litter box" type of set up like you would have for a house cat. The pups learned to use it quickly. I used cedar shavings. Another person recommended using a type of pellets and weewee pads. The pellets work better for poo-poo's. :)

02-19-2013, 05:30 PM

Howard N

Do you hunt in China? I imagine there there are wild water fowl and pheasants. What's the hunting like? Will the lab be part of it?

02-19-2013, 09:13 PM

flena

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard N

Do you hunt in China? I imagine there there are wild water fowl and pheasants. What's the hunting like? Will the lab be part of it?

I think we normally don't hunt in China. You need to have license and registration staff. BTW, there's large population, so not so many places to hunt. I think people in the south part might hunt, but not as a recreation, as a career or illegal hunting.

02-19-2013, 09:27 PM

flena

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul "Happy" Gilmore

I had a litter of pups recently and had success with sort of a "litter box" type of set up like you would have for a house cat. The pups learned to use it quickly. I used cedar shavings. Another person recommended using a type of pellets and weewee pads. The pellets work better for poo-poo's. :)

cedar shavings are great for covering but won't work in apartment cause of the wood floor. And also what is pellet? Not sure what that is~

02-19-2013, 09:56 PM

Breck

4 Attachment(s)

Pellets are wood dust & chips pressed together used in some wood burning stoves.
This pic shows them in a plastic pan. You then use a cat litter scoop to clean up mess then change pellets once in a while.
If you have access to lots of news paper you can use that.

The pen is what is called a X-Pen. You can find them in China probably.
Since you have a small apartment you can put a crate inside an x-pen inside your bathroom or in the kitchen or wherever. Puppy left alone unattended and bored all day will destroy things.
the x-pens are made of 8 sections you can shape as you like. The puppy pen in second picture is 2 x-pens hooked together.
.
.Attachment 11386Attachment 11387

02-19-2013, 10:51 PM

flena

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breck

Pellets are wood dust & chips pressed together used in some wood burning stoves.
This pic shows them in a plastic pan. You then use a cat litter scoop to clean up mess then change pellets once in a while.
If you have access to lots of news paper you can use that.

The pen is what is called a X-Pen. You can find them in China probably.
Since you have a small apartment you can put a crate inside an x-pen inside your bathroom or in the kitchen or wherever. Puppy left alone unattended and bored all day will destroy things.
the x-pens are made of 8 sections you can shape as you like. The puppy pen in second picture is 2 x-pens hooked together.
.
.Attachment 11386Attachment 11387

Thanks for the heads up. X-pen won't work, we've got a small kitchen and bathroom, both within 10 square meters. I'm not gonna let him stay in the sitting room until he gets to know where he deals with his poo-poos. I'm gonna just keep him in our bathroom for now.

02-19-2013, 11:12 PM

Breck

Someone else wrote this. You may learn something useful from it to adapt to your situation.
.

.Housebreaking..
Housebreaking a dog can be quite simple, if you understand some basic principles and follow some simple rules.
Dogs are naturally den animals, so a dog does not want to go to the bathroom where he lives. Unfortunately, most of us live in homes that are so big, that the dog does not equate our entire house with his den. Therefore, it is important to keep a dog that is not housebroken in the room you are in. If you let him leave the room, he will equate this with leaving the den, and think it is acceptable to go to the bathroom. If you are in the bedroom, shut him in the bedroom with you. If you go to the kitchen, take him with you. If it is not possible to shut a door, put up a gate, or tie him in the room with you.
Don’t watch the clock to determine when your dog needs to go outside, it is his activity that causes him to need to go to the bathroom, not the time that has elapsed. Every time your dog changes activities, he should be taken outside. If he wakes up, take him out, stops playing, out he goes, stops eating, out again. Take him out before the accident occurs.
Do not think it is the dog’s responsibility to let you know when he needs to go out, try to watch for his signals to you that he needs to go outside. The signals may be subtle like walking toward the door or sniffing and walking in circles.
If your dog goes to the bathroom in front of you, make an exclamation of disgust and take him outside. (“No” or “Bad Dog” is sufficient.) It is not necessary to drag him to the mess or to rub his nose in it.
If your dog does go to the bathroom in the house while you are not watching, there is absolutely nothing that you can do to correct the dog. Why? Dogs do not remember and feel responsible for actions in the past. If you drag a dog to an old mess and make a fuss, he does not say to himself, “I went to the bathroom there 20 minutes ago, that is why my owner is upset.” Instead, he records the situation in his mind, and makes sure the situation does not occur again. In this case, the dog records, “If my owner is present, and I am present, and a mess is present, I will get scolded.” The next time there is a mess on the floor and he hears you coming, he will run. Our tendency is to give the dog human reasoning and emotions. Owners call me and say, “But I know my dog knew he was bad, he ran from me and he looked guilty.” He is not running from you because he understands that he is responsible for the mess, but because he realizes that if he stays in the situation that includes himself, you, and the mess, that he will be scolded.
If you question whether this is true, pour a glass of water on the floor and talk to the dog in the same tone of voice you use when you find a mess on the floor. He will undoubtedly slink away from you just as he does when the mess is his. This should prove to you that it is not his guilt that makes him leave, but your reaction to the situation.
Since a dog does not want to go to the bathroom where he lives, when you cannot be with him, he needs to be confined to an area that is small enough that he chooses not to go to the bathroom. You might try a laundry room or small bathroom, but we recommend a dog crate. A crate provides your dog with a small den of his own that he will be motivated to keep clean. Furthermore, if you leave him in a crate when you are away from him, you can be sure that nothing you care about will be chewed or destroyed while you are gone.
You may be thinking that if you keep your dog in a crate while you are at work, and again while you are sleeping, he will spend two-thirds of his life in a crate. That may be the case with a new dog who is not housebroken, but this situation won’t last long. Soon you will trust him and be able to allow him more freedom when you are not around. Once he is able to keep his crate clean in your absence, try leaving him in a slightly larger space like a laundry room, porch, or kitchen. If he keeps that clean, again enlarge his space. Eventually, he will understand that your entire house is his den, and will work to keep your home clean. Being confined for a few months of training is a small price to pay for a lifetime of enjoying a trained dog!
A few final thoughts . . .
If your dog is going to the bathroom in one location in your home, this is a sign that he is attempting to keep your home clean, however he has established an indoor bathroom. Try feeding him in that location for a few days. This will cause him to reconsider his established bathroom. Most dogs will not go to the bathroom where they eat.
When you let your dog out of his crate, or confined space, immediately take him outside. If he does not go to the bathroom, bring him back inside and confine him again. Wait 20-30 minutes and take him out again. Do not bring a dog inside and allow him to be loose in your house unless he has just gone to the bathroom outside.
We often hear the complaint that an owner has put his dog out in the yard for 20-30 minutes, and as soon as they let the dog in, he goes to the bathroom. Odds are that the dog went to the bathroom as soon as you put him out, then sat outside the door waiting for you. Thirty minutes later, when you let him in, he also needed to go to the bathroom again. Do not let a dog loose in your house unless he has just gone to the bathroom outside.
.
.
.Crate Training
Crates are the cribs and playpens of dog training. A crate helps to prevent your dog from chewing and soiling the house. Crates protect dogs from consuming things in the house that could be harmful to him. A crate also calms anxious dogs and teaches hyperactive dogs to sleep when left alone. In addition, the crate becomes a home away from home whenever you are traveling with your dog.
If the crate is used correctly, your dog will regard it as a “room of his own.” It is a clean, comfortable, safe place to leave your dog when he cannot be supervised. Most dogs will try not to urinate or defecate in the crate, which is why it is so invaluable for housebreaking.
To introduce your dog to the crate, place the crate in a “people” area such as the kitchen or family room. Use an old towel or blanket for bedding. Put your dog’s toys and a few treats in the open crate and allow your dog to come and go as he wishes. At mealtimes, feed your dog in the crate with the door closed. (Clean up any spills promptly—it’s very important for the crate to stay clean!) Your dog doesn’t need to stay in his crate long, but should get comfortable eating his meal there.
Put your dog in the crate when he is tired and ready for a nap. As soon as you hear him start to wake up, go to him and take him outside. Do NOT let him out if he is barking or whining because this will reward him for being noisy. Let your dog sleep in the crate at night. If he wakes you during the night, go to him and take him out. You want him to believe that you will meet his bathroom needs. However, you should return him to the crate to sleep the remainder of the night.
When training is complete, how long can your dog be left? For young puppies, use this rule of thumb. The time limit should be your puppy’s age in months plus one. For example, a three-month-old pup should not be crated for more than four hours. A four-month-old pup’s limit is five hours. The self control of puppies varies, but most can usually hold it overnight by the age of four months. The adult dog’s self-control is usually great enough that it can be left for eight to nine hours in the crate. But keep in mind that long confinements are likely to present other mental and physical difficulties. Crate or no crate, any dog consistently denied the companionship it needs is going to be a lonely pet and may still find ways—destructive ways—to express anxiety, depression, and stress.
A dog crate offers many advantages for you and your dog—the most important being peace of mind when leaving your dog home alone. You’ll know that nothing can be soiled or destroyed, and you’ll know that your dog won’t get into anything harmful while you’re gone.

02-19-2013, 11:56 PM

JDogger

Flena, Welcome to RTF. I just brought home a new pup myself. I thought laundry room would be safe while at work. Then I found chewed electric cords and water hoses. Concrete blocks now block access behind washer and dryer. Have fun. JD